The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) also known as Trenitalia has placed a 861 million euros order with Hitachi Rail for a further 30 Frecciarossa ETR1000 high speed train sets. There is a 287 million euros option for another 10, bringing the total to 40.
Hitachi Rail says the 350 km/h trains will primarily be used in Italy, but will also be able to operate on high speed lines in France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, switching ‘seamlessly’ between power supplies, signalling and security systems.
2026
The first units should be delivered by 2026, at a rate of eight to ten train sets per year. According to Treinreiziger.nl, Trenitalia wants to operate trains all the way to Amsterdam from 2027. Its Qbuzz brand has the ambition to run trains between Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
Trenitalia already operates 54 ETR100s. Six are underway. In total, the Italian operator will have 94 Red Arrows.
New interior
The new units will retain the main characteristics of the previous ones, including the red livery. The interior design will be updated.
The trains will be built in Naples and Pistoia. Hitachi, an industrial juggernaut from Japan, took over AnsaldoBreda in 2015 to form Hitachi Rail Italia. In the Low Countries, the name AnsaldoBreda will forever be associated with the Fyra fiasco. Hitachi also builds trains in the United Kingdom.
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